To think that equestrian events are ridiculous

There are lots of inner city riding schools that offer riding lessons to kids from deprived areas - look up Ebony Horse Club (Brixton), The Urban Equestrian Academy (Leicester), Park Palace Ponies (Liverpool) to name a few.

Have a read up on Khadija Mella (who learned to ride at Ebony Horse Club) who fulfilled her dream to be a jockey in 2019 when riding in, and winning, The Magnolia Cup - a charity race for amateur female jockeys run at Goodwood.

Why have the Olympics?

To introduce people to new sports, to inspire young people to try a range of sports, to celebrate sporting achievement across a vast range of sports?

Lauren Williams was inspired as a youngster by Jade Jones for instance.

Just leave the horses alone, basically.

Why have the Olympics? Waste of money... Sports should be enjoyed for what you individually or collectively put into them not for winning medals. Especially when there is a pandemic on... The IOC is full of fantacists who need to come down into the real world

A lot is being done to make equestrian sports more inclusive and available to all.

Very well said, people who don’t understand and cannot ride just look utterly foolish with some of these comments. Years and years of hard work and dedication has gone into their performances.

I had a few refresher lessons a couple of years ago. The girl who taught me lived on a rough estate with her parents and was a pole dancer in the evenings which earned her enough so she could train as an instructor during the day. She was about 19 with dyed hair and piercings. Loved the horses and was a decent teacher. Thanks Libby!

How many kids from council estates do you think can afford riding and sailing lessons ?

All our local riding schools offer lessons and hacks in exchange for helping out.

My daughter would spend her Saturday mornings mucking out, tacking up for lessons, grooming, etc and would have a hack to the beach or something in the afternoon.

We’re not all rich either. Neither DH or I are horsey, DD learned to ride with the occasional paid for lesson mixed with helping out at the yard. She had a share pony, then a loan pony. We were lucky enough to buy her her pony with some of a redundancy payment I received when I lost my job - fortunately I found a new job straight away.

With sailing, there are loads of initiatives round here getting kids of all backgrounds into sailing - we have sea scouts who spend all summer out on the water, there are charities all over the uk getting kids into sailing.

I live in a sailing town - it’s a very big thing here, people from all walks of life sail.

Socially mixed? Are you having a laugh? How many kids from council estates do you think can afford riding and sailing lessons ?
No, I'm not having a laugh.
I'd say sailing is more accessible than riding TBH, depending on where you live. If you live near an estuary or a marina, you can wheedle your way onto someone's boat.

And let's face it, the world is not divided into 'rich people' and 'kids from council estates'. There are a lot of people who aren't remotely wealthy, in the area where I grew up, who have horses (hairdresser, bod who used to run the dry cleaners) or boats (retired handyman, social worker).

Of the riders who won a gold medal at Tokyo for GB 3 day equestrian event one was raised by a single mother working numerous jobs, another's father was a milkman and mother a carer. Not from wealthy backgrounds. Nor was Charlotte Dujardin.

Sport has so much to answer for ...
It starts off in school pitting child against child
Then fierce competition between schools
It is possible to keep fit have fun without the short sighted nature
of competitive sport.

How many kids from council estates do you think can afford riding and sailing lessons ?

Any of the ones willing to take the working student path, for riding. It's not easy to shovel poo in exchange for lessons but there are many, many yards with opportunities for those willing to take them, if a kid really wants to ride.

I wasn't from a council estate but I was an utterly broke student when I started riding, and I earned my lessons by working at the yard.

Agree

It's intense AF I love it.

I have never seen that @PinniGig. My mind is blown.

[quote lizbethb37]@BlithePilgrim
Why not drop the little ball into the little hole if you want it there so badly, rather than whacking it with a club? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣[/quote]
I’m with @BitterestPill on golf. (It might just be the kind of almost-extinct wazzock who plays it socially and bags on about ‘lady members’ and ‘the 19th hole’. Or just the stupid clothes, though the plus fours, loud jumpers and a single glove in the ass pocket seem to be dying out, too.)

I haven’t been on a horse since childhood, but I adore watching dressage and cross-country, the same way as I love the non-horse-related stuff that almost never makes it onto tv other than during the Olympics, like gymnastics, triathlon, synchronised swimming, diving, modern pentathlon, and within athletics things like hurdles, pole vaulting, long and high jump, discus etc.

This year the new sport climbing was fascinating, especially the speed climbing where they looked almost as if they were swimming up the wall.

I don't care for sailing, rowing or any other of the water sports. Not big on table tennis, beach volleyball and an awful lot of other sports. I don't watch them. It's not even something I'd give a shit enough about to even think of suggesting it's not a worthwhile sport it's just not for me.

I'm also a lifelong horse lover and former competitive rider but dressage was never and still isn't my thing at all but there's no mistaking it's an incredibly disciplined skill.

@BlithePilgrim
Why not drop the little ball into the little hole if you want it there so badly, rather than whacking it with a club? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I watch every sport being shown, (except golf, just tell me who won, cos I just don't get it)
I'm proudly an armchair expert on all of the sports being shown (except golf). I think these people are amazing, to put all of that time, effort and dedication into training deserves our admiration.
The dressage is amazing, imagine being able to ask a horse to do something at the exact moment so as to be in time with the music and the horse does it..mind blowing..I've ridden a couple of times and watched loads on the telly so I'm obviously an expert...I'm gonna say if the horse didn't want to do it..it's just not gonna do it!
Anyway...back to cheering on the weightlifter from Georgia, he just broke the Olympic and World records dontchya know

I personally have no interest in elitist sports like equestrian events. Same with sailing. Bunch of rich people doing rich people stuff
LOL.

The sailing club that I know the best is incredibly socially mixed. Ditto the riding stable with which I am most familiar.

Well, all sport is fundamentally ridiculous from a utilitarian point of view, not just dressage. Why compete to run 100 metres fastest when a horse/bicycle/car is far faster? Why not drop the little ball into the little hole if you want it there so badly, rather than whacking it with a club?

The whole thing is madness ,if all the money and effort was put into
fixing worldwide food production
Imagine the difference that could be
made, all those motivated people coming together to make something
that really matters happen.
WE SHOULD be fostering cooperation between nations not competition